Sparkling Wines for Every Day

There is a vast universe of fizz between the $100-plus bottle and the sugary plonk that you drank on New Year's in your twenties. Sparkling wines are among the most versatile around – equally fun to drink in the summer and winter alike, they pair well with everything from sushi to poultry to cheese. And now, in California, Spain, Italy, and parts of France, there are scores of interesting sparklers that have the added virtue of offering great value.

Chardonnay, pinot noir, and pinot meunier are the grapes used for champagne. But a number of other varieties can be given a shot of effervescence, and more than a handful work well with bubbles. Prosecco, Italy's signature sparkling wine, has gotten a lot of play in recent years – maybe a little too much. It is a category rife with pillowy, insubstantial wines and the occasional outstanding bottle (like the one below). Some of the most exciting sparklers now are cavas from northern Spain: pleasantly lean wines with a freshness and purity about them. Even better, though, are sparkling Vouvrays, from France's Loire Valley. Made of chenin blanc, the most protean grape on the planet, Vouvrays are lithe and elegant, with the same chalky minerality you find in champagnes. But these are just a few of the many distinctive sparklers out there. It's time we start treating bubbly as everyday wine and consume it throughout the year, with the regularity that we drink others. Launch Gallery >>

Photograph by Jamie Chung

Crémant du Jura: Les Chais du Vieux Bourg 2008

Crémant du Jura

Hailing from the Jura region of eastern France and made primarily of chardonnay grapes, this is a tangy, pleasantly austere, somewhat exotic wine that should be served with a rich poultry dish. [$20; klwines.com]